Page 14 - index

TOP COVER 524+0)

5%+'0%' 10 6*' 564''6
JUMPING THE GUN

94+66'0 $; ' $.1%-5+&)'

Lewis completed the distance in 9.764 seconds and Burrell in
9.783, Lewis was the faster athlete over the distance but the race
was lost because of his delayed reaction to the starting gun – 0.166
seconds when compared to Burrell’s lightning 0.117 seconds.
Crucially Lewis had the additional pressure of already being
cautioned for a false start, he knew that he faced disqualification if
he ‘jumped the gun’ again.
Some people reading this may think, well the times between both
athletes leaving the blocks are so close as to be virtually irrelevant:
+0 ,70' #6 6*' 75# /1$+. 0.049ms of one second – so what! For most people the time is an
irrelevance, however in the world of the firearms, these times can
176&114 64#%- #0& (+'.& be critical – 5 hundredths’ of one second can be the time taken for

%*#/2+105*+2 +0 &190+0) a 124 grain 9mm round to cover 16 metres when discharged from
a Glock 17. Or the time taken for a 5.56 bullet to cover 35 metres
56#&+7/ 0'9 ;14- 51/'6*+0) fired from a G36. It can also be the time in which a human head
can rotate 70 degrees in a rapid dynamic movement when a subject
4#6*'4 +06'4'56+0) 1%%744'& turns when firing, fleeing from police resulting in an entry wound
in the rear of the head instead of the front.
Another way of looking at the significance of timing variables
eroy Burrell and Carl Lewis went head to head during is to use the previous data in a slightly different scenario. Now
the men’s 100m sprint final. T is much-publicised calculate two officers firing at the same moving subject from 20
showdown between two huge sporting giants did not metres; if it were possible for both to discharge their weapons at
Ldisappoint, a new world record of 9.9 seconds was set. precisely the same moment in time. At 20 metres the G36 round
However this world record is not the main focus of interest for would strike our moving subject after 0.026 milliseconds and the
this story; the race essentially demonstrated that reaction and then bullet from the Glock 17 would impact the same individual some
speed of movement is critical if you want to win or survive a highly 0.040 milliseconds later – again, so what? Well the subject has
pressurised encounter against a fellow ‘competitor’ or opponent. moved in the intervening 40 milliseconds…
Curiously, Burrell set a new world record winning the race, yet Carl
Lewis covered the 100m distance in a faster time coming second,
how could this be?

(KIWTG ) CV OGVTGU (KIWTG )NQEM CV OGVTGU

As depicted within this illustration, reaction and then movement
FCXKFDNQEMUKFIG"OUP EQO time can make a world of difference to the outcome of the event,
FCXKF DNQEMUKFIG"OGV RQNKEG WM especially when bullet flight time is calculated. T is picture
illustrates this flight time differential with two weapons and types